With an increase in demand for broadband communications and services, telecommunication service providers are migrating towards long-distance, large-capacity optical communication networks. These fiber optic transmission systems typically utilize patch panels to provide termination and cross-connection between various fiber optic links, such as between main trunk lines and subscriber lines. In this manner, conventional patch panels generally have two corresponding arrays or matrices for receiving and terminating two sets of fiber optic lines, i.e., an incoming set (e.g., main trunk lines) and an outgoing set (e.g., subscriber lines). It is common for the incoming and outgoing fibers to be terminated at fixed positions on corresponding termination panels. Fiber optic patch cords are then provisioned between these fixed positions to provide for photonic switching, i.e., optical-to-optical signal transmission between incoming and outgoing fibers. Compared to conventional copper wiring, fiber optic cables require a higher level of precision in terms of care to ensure proper connections. Traditionally, provisioning patch cords is an expensive, time-consuming process that must be manually performed by at least one highly trained technician. Moreover, the tracking and recording of these connections have been manually intensive.
Therefore, there is a need for automated, cost-effective patch panels for manipulating and tracking patch cord connections.